Blue Jays claim see-saw affair 5-4 in 10 innings

DUNEDIN, Fla. (August 20, 2021) – The Dunedin Blue Jays scored in each of the final two innings Friday, erasing a one-run deficit to beat the Mighty Mussels 5-4 in 10 innings at TD Ballpark.

With Fort Myers leading 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Huge Cardona singled to center with one out against reliever Carlos Suniaga (2-3). After stealing second, he advanced to third on a groundout by Steward Berroa. With Dunedin down to their final out, Miguel Hiraldo lined a base hit to right field to score Cardona and send the game to extra innings.

After the Mussels failed to score in the top of the tenth, the Blue Jays moved the winning run to third with two outs. With Harry Ray ahead in the count 2-1, he lined a single past first baseman Jesus Feliz to win the game for Dunedin.

Despite the frustrating loss, the Mussels had several strong performances. Justin Washington went 3-for-4 with a double, two stolen bases and two runs in his first game of the series. Keoni Cavaco finished 1-for-3 while driving in a pair of runs on sacrifice flies.

With the game tied 3-3 in the top of seventh, Aaron Sabato clobbered an opposite-field home run to right center to give Fort Myers a 4-3 lead.

Mussels starter Sean Mooney struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings of one-run ball. Lefty Zarion Sharpe logged 4.1 innings of relief, the second longest relief outing by a Fort Myers pitcher this season.

The Mighty Mussels will look to take the series lead at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.